听读 Chapter 4 Two Loves

Chapter 4 Two Loves

 For the next year, Marie studied math at the Sorbonne. When she took her exams, she came in second in the class! Was it time now to go back to Poland as she had promised? Not quite yet. Marie’s professor, Gabriel Lippmann, found her a job in a lab at the Sorbonne. Her task was to study magnetism and steel. Magnetism is the force that causes magnets and metal to stick together. It was perfect for Marie —she was always happiest doing experiments. There was only one problem—the lab didn’t have the best equipment. Marie struggled with her experiments. She couldn’t get good results.

 To help her, some friends from Poland introduced Marie to a Frenchman named Pierre Curie.Pierre was a scientist who had become famous at a very young age. When Pierre was twenty-one, he and his brother had discovered that quartz crystals could hold an electrical charge. After that, he invented a scientific tool called an electrometer. It was used to measure very small amounts of electricity.

 Marie needed his electrometer for her experiments.

 The day Marie met Pierre, her whole life changed. Until then,she had thought she would never fall in love again. She thought it didn’t matter. She was planning to devote her life solely to science. But Pierrewas so special, so different from other men. He was smart, quiet, and he loved science as much as she did. In so many ways, he was just like Marie. Pierre had been brought up in a family just like Marie’s, too. His father was a doctor and scientist. His parents thought education was extremely important—just like Marie’s.

 Unlike Marie,Pierrehad had trouble learning in school, so his parents taught him at home. They let him find his own way. When he discovered how much he liked math and science, he went from being a slow learner to being super fast. By the time Pierre was twenty-three years old he was teaching college! The minute Marie and Pierre met, they each knew that the other was special. Pierre felt he had found a “woman of genius.” Marie knew that Pierre was the kind of man she could talk to and trust. She invited him to her tiny room to discuss science and sip tea.

 Very soon,Pierre was in love with Marie. He wanted to marry her, but Marie was not so sure. In the summer of 1894, she went home to Warsaw. Her heart had been broken once by Kaz.She wasn’t ready to take another chance on love. Pierre wouldn’t give up, though. He wrote to her and begged her to come back to Paris to be with him. He even offered to leave France—a country he loved—and come live in Poland. Finally Marie realized Pierre truly loved her and that they could have a life together as scientists. The two of them were married in France on July 26, 1895. On a perfect summer day, the wedding reception was held in his parents’ garden. Wonderful food was served, including a huge turkey and giant peaches! After they ate, the guests played a French ball game on the lawn. It was a happy occasion in every way. For their honeymoon, they bought two bicycles and rode off on a long adventure. Their honeymoon bike trip lasted all summer long!

 When they came back to Parisin the fall, they quickly got to work.Nothing made them happier than spending all day—and even all night —in a lab.